Combination cable and plate highway guard



April 20, 1943. A. E. BRICKMAN COMBINATION CABLE AND PLATE HIGHWAY GUARDFild May 19, 1942 Patented Apr. 20, 1943 COMBINATION CABLE AND PLATEHIGHWAY GUARD Alan E. Brickman, Monongahela, Pa., assignor to TheAmerican Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of NewJersey Application May 19, 1942, Serial No. 443,609

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved type of highway guard railadapted to deflect vehicles which accidently collide therewith. In itsbroadest aspects the invention aims to provide combined plate and cableguard rail elements with resilient supporting brackets secured to thecustomary supporting posts. The invention teaches the use of a platehighway guard element combined with a cable guard element in such mannerthat the smooth surface of the plate performs a deflecting functionbefore the force of colliding impact is transmitted thereby through theresilient brackets to the cable guard rail elements.

In its more detailed aspects the invention teaches the use of a combinedplate and cable guard rail wherein the plate element is located furtherfrom the plane of the supporting posts and the cable elements arelocated intermediate the plate element and the plane of the supportingposts. This arrangement has the advantage that the plate elementprovides a smooth yieldable contact surface which gives immediatewarning to a driver whose car may graze the same. The plate alsofunctions to deflect a car which may be riding hard against the cablesso as to prevent .the same from colliding with an end post.

A further feature of the invention is to crown or shape the plateelement to a contour which will deflect an oncoming vehicle from directcollision with the supporting brackets.

A more detailed feature of the invention relates to the provision of asupporting bracket of yieldable spring metal having a relatively flatpost contacting portion and spaced plate and cable supporting portionsconverging toward one another and away from the plane of the supportingpost.

A further detail feature of the invention relates to the provision of aspring bracket. of considerable ventical length which can be fabricatedeconomically and yet provide effective and simple attaching means forthe respective plate and cable rail elements.

The above and further features of the invention will be fully apparentfrom consideration of the following detail disclosure, the accompanyingdrawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure. 1 is a front elevation of an end portion of a highway guardembodying the invention, the parts being broken away to permit ofillustration at a convenient scale;

Figure 2 is a section on line II-II of Figure 1;;

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the supporting brackets;

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of a por tion of the plate guardelement; and

Figure 6 is a detail view of a cable retaining clip.

Referring in detail to the drawing, I0 represents an end post of ahighway guard which is embedded in the ground and tied by a conventionalanchor rod 2. The guard includes a plurality of intermediate supportingposts l4, each of which carries a resilient bracket indicated generallyat I 6. Each bracket 16 includes a flat post engaging portion I8 formedof spring metal and having connected thereto by looped portions. 20 and22 oppositely inclined arms 24 and 26 which converge away from thesupporting posts and therefore toward the highway.

Each bracket I6 is suitably secured to the post, for example, by meansof through bolts 28 and nuts 30. The resilient arms 24 and 26 terminateat'32 and 34, thus leaving a space between them; as shown in Figure 2.These free ends are united by the plate guard element indicated as awhole. at 36, the same being secured thereto by bolts or other suitablefastening devices 38 and 4B which pass through elongated slots 42 and44; The plate guard element as shown is formed in sections each bent ona gentle curve alongits median or longitudinal axis. Thus the upper andlower parts 46 and 48 thereof are inclined at an angle to suit theinclination of the inclined arms 24 and 26 of the spring bracket. Ateach end of the highway guard the plate is rigidly secured by throughbolts 50 to the end posts 40.

Upper and lower flexible cable guard rail elements 52 and 54 are securedat their extremities to' anchorage fittings 56 and 5B which areconnected to anchor bolts 60 and 62 which are in turn secured to the endpost Ill. At a multiplicity of points intermediate the end posts thecables 52 and 54 are supported by the resilient brackets l6.The-connection of the cables-to the brackets 4 is effected by means ofclips 64 and 66, one of which is shown in detail in Figure 6. Theseclips are of substantially U-shape and each is provided withinterlocking portions 68 and 10 for interengagement with the speciallyshaped notches 12 and 14 formed in the arms 24 and 26 of the springbracket. The clip as shown in Figure 6 is of such design andconstruction that the portion Ill can be passed through the widest partof the slot 12 and then moved into the narrower tive cable and plateguard rail elements jointly Since 7 supported in spaced relation to theposts.

the plate guard rail element is spaced a greater distance from theroadside face of the posts than are the cable guard elements, said plateelement is effective to function as an advance guard so as to deflectcolliding vehicles away from the cable elements, yet the plate elementcooperates with the other elements to transmit part of the collisionimpact to the cable elements through the resilient brackets to whichboth plate and cable elements are operatively connected. Thus it isapparent that the combined elements cooperate in an interdependent.manner'to cushion the forces of collision in separate stages orgradient increments.

Th plate guard element shown and described, it will be noted, isapproximately V-shaped in cross section with a rounded nose portion coincident with its medial or longitudinal axis. This sectional contour isdeemed advantageous since it endows the plate element with stiffnesscharacteristics so that it acts somewhat in the nature of a beam inresisting the impact of colliding vehicles and yet it is constructed ofsteel of such gauge that it flexes to a limited extent. Whena vehicleleaves the highway at an excessive rate of speed and strikes the guardof the present invention, it will be understood that first contact willbe mad by the rounded nose of the substantially V-shaped plate guardelement. This will tend to deflect the vehicle away from the cableelements which are in a plane between that of the plate element and thesupporting post, yet part of th impact forces will be transmitted anddistributed over a plurality of the intermediate posts and to the endposts by reason of the fact that the arms 24 and 26 will yield to alimited extent upon impact of a collidingvehicle and exert a tension onthe cable elements.

While I have described quite precisely certain detail features of theembodiment of the invention herein illustrated, it is to be understoodthat the drawing and descriptive matter are to be interpreted in anillustrative rather than a limiting sense.

I claim: 7 h

l. A highway guard comprising a series of spaced posts, resilientbrackets secured to the roadside faces thereof, a plate guard railelement secured to said brackets in a plane spaced out wardly from theposts, and a cable guard rail element positioned by said brackets in aplane intermediate the respective roadside faces of said posts and saidplate guard rail element.

2. A highway guard comprising a series of spaced posts, resilientbrackets secured to the roadside faces thereof jointly supporting inspaced relation to the posts respective cable and plate guard railelements, the plate guard rail element being spaced a greater distancefrom the roadside face of said posts than said cable elements, saidplate element being effective to function as an advance guard to deflectcolliding vehicles away from said cable elements and to transmit part ofthe collision impact thereto through the resilient brackets to whichboth said plate and cable elements are connected.

3. A highway guard comprising a series of spaced posts, spring metalbrackets each having a rigid portion firmly secured to the posts anddeflectable portions spaced outwardly therefrom,

" respective plate and cable guard rail elements suppQrted by saidbrackets, and means connecting the plate and cable elements to thebrackets,

the latter being of such contour that theplate guard element ispositioned forward of the cable guard element so as to serve as anadvance contact shield to deflect colliding vehicles away from saidcable elements. and at the same time to transmit part of the collidingforces to the cables through said brackets.

4. A highway guard comprisingfla series of spaced posts, spring metalbrackets secured thereto, each consisting of a post engaging portionsecured to the post and a pair of yielding arms terminating in a planespaced from the roadside face of the posts, abeam-like plate guard railsecured to and connecting the. ends of said arms, respective flexiblecables spaced above and below said plate guard rail, and means securedto said arms for supporting said cables.

5. A highway guard comprising a series of spaced posts, spring metalbrackets secured thereto, each consisting of a post engaging portionrigidly secured to the postand a pairfof yielding arms terminating in aplane spaced from the roadside face of the posts and inclined withrespect to one another so as to converge toward the highway, a plateguard rail bent transversely at the median longitudinal axis thereof toform upper and lower portions inclined to suit the re spectiveinclinations of said converging arms, fastening means securing saidplate to said arms, respective cables above and below said plate raildisposed in an intermediate plane between the roadside faces of theposts and the plate rail; and means carried by said arms supporting saidcables in said intermediate plane.

6. A highway guard comprising a series of spaced posts, -resilientbrackets secured to the roadside faces thereof, a beam-like guardelement secured to said brackets in a plane spaced outwardly from theposts, and a cable guard rail element positioned by said brackets ina'plane intermediate the respective roadside. faces. 10f said posts andsaid beam-like guard element;

. ALAN E. BRICKMAN.

